The present invention relates to wrenches, and more particularly to a wrench for removing and/or replacing spikes on the soles of golf shoes. Spikes are attached to the sole of golf shoes to provide the golfer a firm stance on turf as the golfer swings to hit the golf ball.
Golf shoes until rather recently, were made of leather uppers and leather soles and heels. To the soles and heels were attached metal spikes by means of a male screw integral with the spike body engaging a female screw embedded in the sole of the shoe. The spikes were usually circular in shape with a concavo-convex surface, the convex surface facing away from the sole of the shoe. Two apertures were provided inward from the periphery of the spike body on either side of the spike to receive a spike wrench having affixed thereto two metal pins adapted to engage the apertures of the spike body for removing and/or replacing the spike body from the golf shoe sole. Approximately twelve spikes were provided on the sole of each shoe.
Over the past quarter century, there has been a veritable revolution in the materials utilized in making golf shoes and spikes. Synthetic materials are now commonly used for the uppers, the soles and even the spike bodies. The soles are made of a rubber-resin blend composition and the spike bodies in some cases are encapsulated in a thermoplastic jacket. The shape of the soles, the shape of the spike bodies and the number of spikes per shoe remain substantially the same. Two factors resulted in the present invention. First, the thermoplastic encapsulated spike bodies tend to "weld" to the sole composition and consequently become very difficult to remove. Secondly, the thermoplastic encapsulated spike bodies damage rather readily when a conventional metal spike wrench is employed to remove them for replacement with new spike bodies. Because of the aforementioned "welding" effect and the damage caused by the conventional metal spike wrench, it is oftentimes practically impossible to remove the spike bodies from the shoes.